


Serenity

by iloveyoursmile



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-06-02 22:48:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6585706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iloveyoursmile/pseuds/iloveyoursmile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Connor and Oliver go to a wedding, and Connor meets Oliver's less than supportive parents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Serenity

It had been a long day with the other Keating-5, and Connor was ready for a cuddle with Oliver and then bed. Closing the door to the apartment behind him, he dropped his keys in the bowl, shrugged off his jacket, and put his backpack on the floor. Oliver hated it when he left it there, but he promised himself he’d move it later. 

Wandering over to the kitchen area he saw a pile of mail at the counter, but more interestingly he noticed a fancy white envelope in the trash next to the counter. It looked as if Oliver had already opened it. 

Connor’s curiosity was piqued. Oliver had had a doctor's appointment that evening, so he wasn’t going to be back for awhile. Connor gauged his next actions carefully. He really wanted to know why such a fancy envelope was in the trash, but he also knew that Oliver wouldn’t appreciate Connor snooping through his stuff...but this could be something that had upset Oliver, so Connor was at impasse. Upset Oliver, which he never liked doing, but know if something was wrong so he could be prepared. Or deal with the curiosity and deal with a potentially grumpy Oliver, without knowing the reason to said grumpiness. 

Connor grabbed the envelope, upsetting Oliver was bad, and it made his stomach twist to just think about it, but not knowing why Oliver was upset was worse, at least this way he would know why.

_ Christopher Williams  _

_ and  _

_ Marie Hampton  _

_ Request the pleasure of you company at the  _

_ celebration of their union.  _

So it was what it looked like...a wedding invitation. But why was it in the trash? Did Oliver have a problem with this Marie, who Connor could only assume had some relation to, as they shared a last name, or did he have an issue with the soon-to-be husband, Christopher? Maybe he and this Christopher character had a past? Was this another Michaela and Aiden situation? 

The questions wouldn’t stop, this had been a bad idea, Connor wasn’t going to be able to let this go, he could just tell that this would nag at him until he talked it through with Oliver. 

Speaking of Oliver, Connor heard the door opening, and Oliver’s voice calling out, “Connor, I told you stop leaving your backpack at the doorway! Come on babes, I keep tripping over it!” 

Connor, deciding it was pointless to cover his snooping up, left the invitation on the table. 

“Sorry, Ollie, I’m getting it now,” moving towards the door, Connor came face to face with Oliver. “How was your doctor’s appointment?” he asked, leaning forward to give a quick hello kiss.

“Oh, it was fine, nothing new, got a refill for my meds, so, it was okay. Have you started dinner? I’m starving,” Oliver questioned, moving into the kitchen. He then stopped, staring at the open invitation on the counter. 

Connor quickly moved in front of Oliver, “Before you start yelling at me, I just wanted to say, I know I shouldn’t have looked, but I was just really curious, and also really worried about you because I thought that maybe something was wrong, and I wanted to be able to comfort you properly when you got home.”

Oliver sighed, “I can’t say I’m surprised, I should’ve known you wouldn’t be able to control yourself.”

“Aren’t you mad?” Connor asked hesitantly, choosing to ignore the insult. He started to edge closer to Oliver.

Oliver shook his head, “I’m a little annoyed, yeah, it was in the trash for a reason.”

“Okay...but why don’t you want to go?” This whole thing was really weird. Oliver was not the type of person to brush off this kind of violation, not that Connor would go as far as to call it a violation...but still, normally this type of thing would get him at least a lecture on privacy and trust. 

Oliver shrugged, way too nonchalantly for Connor’s liking, and went to the fridge, starting to pull out leftovers to reheat. “I just don’t want to, it’s not a big deal.”

“Um...it’s a wedding, of one of your family members, I’d say that’s a pretty big deal.”

“Hmm, maybe.”

Again with this brushing off of the topic, what was going on? “Did you have like a problem with one of them?” 

“Nope, I love my cousin, and Chris is a nice guy, I’ve met him once or twice, they aren’t the problem.”

“Then why don’t you want to go? Who is the problem?” Connor continued to press.

Rolling his eyes, Oliver turned to look at him, “Con, come on, just drop it okay? It’s not a big deal and I don’t want to talk about it.”

“But it is a big deal, you love stuff like this. Why aren’t you going to support your cousin?”

“Connor, I told you to drop it!” Oliver was starting to raise his voice now. 

“Well, I’m not going to, so why don’t you just tell me what’s going on!” 

“My family doesn’t approve! There, you happy now that I told you?” Oliver blurted, and when he realized what he had said he went to leave the kitchen, but Connor grabbed his arm.

“What do you mean your family doesn’t approve? They don’t approve of what, you being gay?”

Sighing, Oliver started to look uncomfortable.

“Oliver...Tell me please, let me help, at least a little bit,” Connor pleaded.

Letting out another breath Oliver finally admitted,“...No, Con, they’re fine with me...it’s…” Oliver trailed off, looking at Connor guilty. 

“Me. They don’t approve of me,” Connor finished for him. “Why?”

“...When you cheated on me I went home for a weekend, just to, you know, clear my head. I told them what happened, and you know I didn’t say very, uh, flattering, things about you...and then I got back together with you, and we found out about the HIV thing, and, yeah, they aren’t, um, very happy about us,” Oliver explained haltingly. “So, I didn’t really want to go to a wedding with my family without you, and I sorta, wanted to make a...statement, I guess, about how I feel about their opinions...so I just wasn’t going to mention it to you, and ignore it, mostly.”

Connor stood for just a minute before he pulled Oliver into his embrace, “Thank you, Ollie, thank you so much for that.”

“For what?” Oliver asked, his voice muffled in Connor’s shoulder. 

“For standing up for me, for us. For being willing to sacrifice going to your cousin’s wedding, because you don’t want to support your parents opinion of me, or force me into that position,” Connor said, and for a moment he let himself enjoy the embrace, after such a long day it was just what he wanted,  “But we are going to go,” he told Oliver. 

“What?” Oliver pulled back from Connor, “Why would we go?”

“Because, you can’t avoid your family forever, and neither can I. And because I want this Ollie, and I’m in it for the long haul, and that means I have to change your parents minds about me, and that starts at dear Marie’s wedding,” Connor explained.

The smile that spread across Oliver’s face quelled the uneasiness growing in Connor’s stomach, and he pulled Oliver back into his arms. 

 

\----

It was the day of the wedding, and Connor was fussing with his suit. He had been downplaying his nerves since they decided they were going. He may have let Oliver assume he was okay, and that he wasn’t worried, but the truth was that Connor was absolutely terrified. This was the first time he had ever introduced himself to the parents, and they were already hostile. At least there wasn’t any uncertainty about how they felt about Connor, he was going in knowing what to expect.

“Connor, you about ready to go?” Oliver asked, coming into the bedroom.

“Uh, yeah, I am,” Connor replied, fiddling with his tie one more time before he turned to face Oliver. 

“Wow, you look great, babe,” Oliver complimented, coming to stand in front of Connor, smoothing out his suit jacket while murmuring, “This suit makes me want to ditch the wedding and stay home.”

Connor blushed. He wasn’t normally a big blusher, that was Oliver, but he was nervous, “Thanks.”

Oliver’s eyes filled with concern, “Connor, are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah I’m fine, why?”

“Con, you’re blushing, and fiddling with your suit constantly. Don’t think I can’t tell when you’re nervous, you said you were okay with going…”

“I am!” Connor said hurriedly, “I’m just, you know...a bit terrified. Your parents are intimidating, and I already know they hate me, so that makes it so much worse...but I swear I’m okay.”

“...You know we can stay home, it’s okay,” Oliver tried to reassure.

“No, come on, we have to do this sometime, and now is the best time as any. Plus I took two days off for this thing, and we RSVPed, we’re going.”  
“Alright, alright, well if we’re going then we need to leave now in order to get there on time,” Oliver said, looking at his watch. 

“I’m ready, let’s go,” Connor muttered, grabbing his phone and wallet. 

They headed out to the car, and started the journey. It was a two hour drive to Oliver’s cousin’s wedding, and Connor couldn’t stop thinking the whole way there. Oliver must have sensed this because he tried to make conversation, but Connor was hopeless. In the end he just rested a reassuring hand on Connor’s knee. Connor, while thankful for the contact, was unable to stop thinking of worst case scenarios, and he could feel his anxiety starting to kick in. 

By the time Oliver looked over at Connor again his face was pale and sweaty, and his breathing labored.

“Con, are you okay? What’s going on? Do I need to stop the car?” Oliver asked in quick succession. 

“N-no, I’m fine, just keep driving…” Connor stuttered out.

“Yeah, bullshit. Here’s a rest stop, we’re stopping.”

“I don’t w-want to b-be late, k-kee-keep going,” Connor tried to convince Oliver.

“We left an hour early, we have plenty of time, Connor,” Oliver said, pulling into the rest stop and parking. “Con, talk to me, what’s going on.”

“N-nothing, i-it’s not re-really a big deal, I-I’m just ner-nervous,” Connor stuttered.

“Babe, come on, we aren’t doing this if it makes you have an anxiety attack. It’s not worth it.” 

“Ollie, I-I promise, I’ll b-be f-f-fine, just...talk to m-me,” Connor pleaded, Oliver’s voice always soothed him. 

Against his better judgement Oliver sighed and started to tell Connor the story of when he was seven and tried to do the laundry for his mom. 

Connor closed his eyes and let himself be lulled into a sense of security by the timber of Oliver’s voice, weaving a tale of his younger self’s mishaps, and his parents reactions.

It took twenty minutes, but by the time Oliver had finished his long and winding version of the story, Connor’s complexion had returned to normal and his breathing had regulated. 

“Come on, let’s get a move on, Ollie, we can’t be late!” Connor chuckled, trying to brush off what had just happened.

“Con, I just want to tell you, again, that this is entirely optional, and that we can just ignore it,” Oliver reiterated. 

Connor shook his head, “But what happens at Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or whatever holiday is next, we can’t just ignore your family, that’s why we have to do this now.”

Oliver sighed, “I guess, we’ll be there in ten minutes okay?”

Connor nodded, and they resumed driving in silence. 

\---

 

When they reached the church Connor took a deep breath, and stepped out of the car. He smoothed his suit and walked over to meet Oliver on the sidewalk. 

“You ready for this?” Oliver asked hesitantly, holding out his hand.

Connor put on his most winning smile, took his hand, and said, “As I’ll ever be, come on let’s go.”

Walking in was one of the most intimidating experiences Connor had to date. As they walked in, various members of Oliver’s family greeted them. Many were nice and it seemed as though his parents were the only people who knew what had really happened between them. 

Finally came the moment of truth. Oliver saw them before Connor did, and he stiffened, his grip on Connor’s hand tightening. Connor looked over to where Oliver was staring. His parents were unmistakable. Connor had seen pictures before of the two, picture albums he had found one day, but seeing them in person, they were more intimidating than he could've imagined.

Oliver’s father, a bespectacled man, with severe eyebrows, and thin lips had a military buzz cut, and a smart, no-nonsense way about him that reminded Connor about Oliver in a way, though he was inclined to think that Oliver was more of a pushover than this man would be. The woman standing to the right of Oliver’s father could only be his mother. She was pretty with a slim face and business-like appearance, her hair in a sleek up-do and a string of pearls around her neck which made her looked as no-nonsense as her husband. 

Connor could feel the sweat gathering at the base of his spine, and he returned Oliver’s death grip on his hand. Nonetheless, he followed Oliver to where his parents were standing. 

“Mom, Dad, it’s good to see you. This is my boyfriend, Connor,” Oliver introduced him, and Connor stepped forward to shake hands. No one reached out to return the proffered hand.

“Um, okay, hi, yeah, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Hampton,” Connor faltered, unsettled at the look of utmost contempt and disgust, that he was receiving from both of the Hampton’s. 

“We can’t say the same, unfortunately,” Mr. Hampton stated, looking at Connor like he was something unpleasant that was stuck to the bottom of his shoe. “Why did you bring him here, Oliver, this is no place for someone like him.”

“I brought him here because he is my boyfriend, and I wanted to introduce him to my family,” Oliver snapped a little. 

“He doesn’t belong here,” Mrs. Hampton sniffed, giving Connor almost the exact look her husband had given him.

“Mr. and Mrs. Hampton, I feel as though we got off on the wrong foot, and I would like to make it up to you. I never meant to hurt your son, and I understand why you disapprove, but I do love your son, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to prove it,” Connor tried to explain.

“You’ll forgive us for not wanting our son with a cheating manslut like yourself,” Mrs. Hampton replied, “You are worthless, and do not deserve our son, and if he would just come to his senses--”

“Ina, Tatay,  bakit niyo sinabi iyon sa kanya?  !” Suddenly Oliver was spotting off in filipino and Connor had no idea what was going on. Oliver’s parents obviously weren’t pleased with the direction the conversation was going, and they started snapping back. 

Finally after what felt like hours, but probably was only a minute they switched to hushed mixed english, Connor caught a few words along the lines of ‘cheating bastard,’ ‘manwhore,’ and ‘scumbag.’ Each of those words made Connor feel as though someone was punching him repeatedly in the gut.

At this point they were starting to attract attention, so Connor threw in one last ditch effort to stop the argument.

“Ollie,” he started, gently grasping Oliver’s elbow and easing him back, away from his parents. He moved forward to address them, “Mr. and Mrs. Hampton, I’m sorry that my presence has upset you so much, but this is Marie and Christopher’s day, so I will just leave, and you three can go in and watch her get married. Once again I apologize for anything that I did that may have offended you this afternoon.” Connor, pressing a quick kiss to Oliver’s forehead, hurried back out to the car. It was all he could do to hold his composure until he was out of eyeshot of the guests. 

God. What a nightmare. Oliver hadn’t been kidding when he said disapproving. Connor felt like crying, this was most definitely not the first time he had been called any of those things, and all of them had been true...but to be called them in front of his boyfriend, by his boyfriend's parents….What a mess. Connor felt the tears burning at the back of his eyes, and he moved quickly to the car. 

Sliding into the passenger seat, Connor buried his face in his hands and let the tears fall. That had been horrible, to be reminded of all the reasons he didn’t deserve Oliver, all in one fail swoop. Connor breathed a shaky laugh, he couldn’t believe any of this. He had never felt so ashamed of his past actions, he had never thought that enjoying sex would come back to bite him in such a harsh unforgiving manner. He was such an idiot, and Oliver’s parents were right to call him out and remind him just how much he didn’t deserve someone as kind and caring as Oliver. 

After about fifteen minutes of sitting in the car, a rap on the door made him jump, and he looked up to see Oliver. Wiping his face quickly, Connor opened the door and stepped out. 

“Connor...I am so so sorry about my parents, I love you so much, and I can’t believe they would say those things. They aren’t true, none of it was something that we haven’t already talked through and discounted. Please, forgive me, and forgive them for it, I gave them a right talking to after you left,” Oliver explained. Connor just looked at the floor. 

“But...Ollie, they didn’t say anything that wasn’t true...I was a slut, I did sleep around, and I did cheat on you...I hurt you badly, and they had every right to say what they did about me…”

“No, Connor. No, they didn’t. That stuff, you liking sex, doesn’t make you a slut, you don’t deserve to be slut-shamed, least of all by my parents! Please, don’t listen to any of what they said, they were being close-minded,” Oliver begged.

Connor shook his head, and looked up at the sky, the clouds were floating by, and it looked so serene. Connor wished he could just float away, but he knew it wasn’t that easy. “I don’t know if I can ever get what they said to me out of my head, Ollie, and I don’t think they will either, to them all I will ever be is a whore who cheated on their beloved son. It doesn’t seem like they will ever get past it…”

“Con, they’re just my parents, they don’t even matter-”

“Of course it matters Oliver! You’re right, they ARE your parents, and what they think of your significant other is highly important! What they think, and believe, will always matter!”

“More than what I think, and what I believe, Connor?” Oliver snapped.

Connor falted, unsure how to respond, “Ollie...what they say to you about me is going to affect how you view me eventually…”

“Not if I know they’re wrong. Con, come on, I’m not going to suddenly decide five years down the line that you’re a cheating bastard, unless you cheat on me again, which I don’t think you’re gonna do.”

“You just...you don’t understand…”

“Connor,” Oliver said softly, reaching forward and grabbing Connor’s hand, “I love you, and you make me happy, and my parents are going to realize that sooner or later, please, don’t give up on them just yet, we can go back in and sit, and go to the reception for a few minutes, and then we can go back home, or we could just go back home now if you want, it’s all up to you.”

Connor sighed, “I love you too, and I want to be with you...I just don’t what your parents to hate me any more than they do already…”

“Then come in with me, and show them how happy we are, and that you are a good person, despite what they think.”

Deliberating for only a moment Connor nodded, “Let’s go back in…”

“Only if you’re sure, Connor.”

“I’m sure, Ollie,” Connor confirmed, nodding his head. 

They walked in the same way they had before, both clutching each other's hands. This time however they made a beeline for the seats. Most people were already seated, so they chose seats in the middle. Coincidentally Oliver’s parents were across the aisls, two rows up from them. Connor caught Mrs. Hampton glancing over at them, though he couldn’t read her expression. He decided to ignore them and focus on the wedding, which was starting. 

The ceremony passed quickly, the flower girl was goofy, and the ringbearer serious, the groom was handsome, the bride radiant. It was over too soon and him and Oliver were heading out to the car. 

“Oliver, wait,” called a voice behind them, and there appeared Oliver parents. 

“What do you guys want?” Oliver asked harshly, moving almost imperceptibly in front of Connor.

“We wanted to talk to Connor, if that’s okay?” Oliver’s father said.

“No, that is certainly not okay, after the way you talked to him this afternoon!” Oliver snapped.

But Connor put a hand on his arm, “It’s okay, Ollie, wait in the car, yeah? I’ll be back in a minute.”

Oliver bit his lip, “If you’re sure…”

“I am, Oliver,” Connor reassured, leaning in to peck Oliver’s cheek, “I love you,” he whispered into his ear. 

Walking a little ways from the car, Connor turned to face Oliver’s parents. Away from all the prying eyes of the wedding party, and knowing where they all stood, Connor was feeling more confident in himself, and his relationship with Oliver. 

“I love your son, Oliver is the only thing keeping my world together right now, and it took me making a tremendous mistake to realize it. Luckily, Oliver, found it in his heart to give me a second chance, and I hope you guys will too, I know what I did to your son was terrible, and I am so sorry, but it is in the past, I have learned from it, and it is something that I will not be doing again.” Connor said, firmly.

Oliver’s parents looked at each other, then Mrs. Hampton spoke, “We wanted to apologize as well, our actions and our words were horrible, and in no way appropriate. We love our son, and we would like to support him, but him being hurt so horribly really put us on edge, and that forced you to bear the consequences. We are sorry, for the way we treated you.”

Connor nodded, “I hope we can move past this, and be friends. I plan on being with Oliver for a very long time, if not forever, and I would love to be friends with his parents.”

“We can try to move past it, we can’t promise anything immediately, but maybe you guys could start coming to Sunday dinners every once in awhile?” Mr. Hampton offered cautiously.

Connor smiled, “We would love that, thank you. Now I think it’s time for me to get back to the car, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course, we’ll see you later, Connor,” Mrs. Hampton waved, and Connor started back to the car. 

It wasn’t really a resolution, but it was a start, and that gave him hope for the future. 

“Everything okay?” Oliver asked hesitantly when Connor got back into the car. 

“Yeah, more than okay, actually. Now, why don’t we ditch this reception, and go somewhere where you can get me out of this suit?” 

Oliver smirked, “You know, I was actually thinking the same thing. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading, comments and kudos much appreciated! This was originally written for the Coliver Valentines Gift Exchange. :)


End file.
